Chapter 181: This Is Just Making Excuses for Oneself

A sudden wave of bitterness welled up in Wen Yao's heart. This minor character, practically a background extra in the original book who had suffered terribly at the hands of her own unfilial son, had somehow been altered by her arrival and now placed such absolute trust in her.

"Sister Qiu, you are so good." Wen Yao sniffled. It would be a lie to say she wasn't touched; regardless of whether people in this setting were truly this easily deceived according to the original plot, Qiu Rongrong's current trust and tolerance genuinely moved her.

Qiu Rongrong laughed ruefully, feeling a sharp stinging sensation at the corners of her own eyes as well. Still, she managed a smile as she pinched the tip of Wen Yao's nose and chided, "Look at you, crying like a baby despite being all grown up. Let me ask you, can you really not get me any more of these? This tiny amount isn't even enough between my teeth."

Since Qiu Rongrong trusted her so implicitly, Wen Yao naturally couldn't let the young lady down.

"In a few days, Sister can send someone to pick them up at this address." Wen Yao handed Qiu Rongrong the address of the small courtyard she and Wen Xiuyi had rented in the prefectural city.

"I can only manage a thousand catties of each for Sister, I really can't get any more than that," Wen Yao said.

A thousand catties of each—Qiu Rongrong made a quick mental calculation. The land on her estate should be able to yield quite a lot from that.

"Alright, it's a deal then. I'll await your news."

"Okay."

Having made the promise to Qiu Rongrong, Wen Yao could not break her word. After discussing it with Wen Xiuyi, the father and daughter made another trip to the prefectural city, retrieving two thousand catties of potatoes and sweet potatoes from their spatial dimension. Once they returned, they would be able to notify Qiu Rongrong to come and collect them.

True to her loyal character, after transporting the potatoes and sweet potatoes back to her estate and fully understanding the importance of keeping up appearances, Qiu Rongrong paid a visit to the Wen household.

Old Man Wen looked at Qiu Rongrong, then turned to look at Wen Xiuyi.

"Madam Xie, did you really ask Eldest to grow these things?" Old Man Wen had always felt that his eldest son's family had become somewhat different, and had even entertained a few absurd notions. But when Qiu Rongrong stated that she had asked the eldest to grow all of this, Old Man Wen suddenly found himself a bit bewildered.

In a daze, he seemed to recall that back when the eldest and Wen Yao had first brought these things back and claimed they wanted to plant them, they had indeed mentioned that Madam Xie had found them.

This...

Since the items belonged to someone else, now that they had grown, shouldn't they be returned to their owner?

"So... is Madam Xie here today to take them away?" To say Old Man Wen wasn't nervous would be a lie; treating something as your own versus someone else's were two entirely different concepts.

If Qiu Rongrong were to announce today that she was taking them away, he would have cast aside his elderly dignity and begged Madam Xie to leave at least some seeds behind.

Instead, Qiu Rongrong chuckled and said, "Grandpa Wen, why would I take them away? If it hadn't been for Yao-yao spotting these things in the estate and reminding me, I would have had my people feed the whole lot to the pigs, completely unaware that they were edible. Since your family grew them, naturally they belong to you.

"I came today to ask you, Grandpa Wen, along with Uncle Wen, Second Uncle Wen, and Third Uncle Wen, to come over to my estate and teach my farmhands how to cultivate them. I kept some of these seeds for myself, but back then there truly wasn't any space left on the estate, which is why they were shipped over here."

Old Man Wen let out an "ah," his mood instantly brightening.

"Oh, we just got lucky, and we have to thank Eldest for reading so many books; otherwise, we never could have grown them. As for us going, we'll pass—we're just rough folk who don't know the first thing about teaching people. Just send Eldest by himself; he understands the most, he understands plenty," Old Man Wen replied with a smile, glancing sideways at Wen Xiuyi. "Eldest, you must teach them properly, you hear?"

Wen Xiuyi quickly nodded. "Yes, Dad, I know. I'll go over and take a look in a few days."

Old Man Wen then pulled Wen Xiuyi aside and asked in a low voice, "Eldest, tell your old man the truth—did Madam Xie help you find that fertilizer, too? The reason you didn't tell us before was because you were afraid people in the village would be insatiable and bring trouble to Madam Xie?"

Wen Xiuyi was dumbfounded.

Ah, this... The old man's talent for finding his own stepping stones and fabricating excuses for him was truly something that made him—oh, he just loved it so much.

"Ah, yes, yes, exactly, Dad. You mustn't go blabbing about it, though. We owe it all to Madam Xie's help; otherwise, our village's harvest this year might have been in serious trouble." Wen Xiuyi nodded with a thoroughly solemn expression.

Not far away, Qiu Rongrong raised an eyebrow and cast a sidelong glance at Wen Yao.

What fertilizer? And what on earth was she being made to take the blame for yet again?

Wen Yao offered a cheeky, ingratiating smile, blinking craftily as she whispered under her breath, "I'll share some with you later."

"That's more like it." Qiu Rongrong let out a playful, chiding laugh.

Qiu Rongrong stayed at the Wen household for half the day, and right before she left, Lady Li stuffed a basket of duck eggs into her carriage.

"They were laid by the ducks in our own pen, and they're as fresh as can be. Take them back to help build up the little young master's health. Eldest said that if children eat an egg every morning, it makes them healthy and robust." Lady Li had also learned that Qiu Rongrong had come specifically to check on the harvest, and her gratitude towards Qiu Rongrong knew no bounds.

With these potatoes and sweet potatoes, they wouldn't have to fear starvation during the lean months of every year from now on. Her parents had already promised to send two hundred catties to her maiden family for seed, too.

Qiu Rongrong did not stand on ceremony with them either, accepting the duck eggs before leaving with Qiao Yan.

Only after she departed did Old Man Wen finally let out a complete sigh of relief.

"I really thought she came to demand the harvest back. Scared the living daylights out of me." Old Man Wen sat down on a small wooden stool and wiped the sweat from his brow.

Lady Luo glanced at him, then looked over at the father and daughter who were huddled together talking, and frowned. In truth, the airtight facade the eldest and his daughter thought they had put up was actually riddled with loopholes.

If those crops truly belonged to Madam Xie's estate, would the people on her estate really not know how to grow them? Only an absolute fool like the old man would believe such a thing.

However, regardless of the underlying truth, a family that looked like this now actually resembled a proper household. As for the rest, Lady Luo lacked the energy to care.

"You old woman, why are you glaring at me like that?" Old Man Wen looked up and caught Lady Luo staring at him with undisguised contempt.

Lady Luo sneered. "Nothing. Just looking at how foolish you are." With that, denying Old Man Wen any chance to retort, she turned and walked away.

No sooner had they seen Qiu Rongrong off than, come evening, Datou returned and brought the Wen family another piece of news.

"Godfather and Dr. Jin said it's been a long time since they came to share a drink with Grandpa, so they announced that the clinic will close for a day tomorrow. They're coming over to our place for a meal and want to take a look at how we've tidied up the barren mountain. Godfather said he's never seen such a magical mountain spring before and wants to come check it out."

By now, Dr. Jin and Shopkeeper Qiu were practically treated like members of the family. Hearing Datou's announcement, Lady Luo and the others didn't think much of it.

"Let them come, then. It's not like your godfather and Dr. Jin are visiting our house for the first time. Why all the fuss, making you come back a day early just to give us special notice?" Lady Luo pinched her little grandson's nose and laughed.

Datou maintained a solemn, earnest expression. "But Godfather said he's bringing two friends with him. Because he's bringing two friends, he was worried that showing up unannounced might disrupt our family, so he made me come and give a heads-up beforehand. Godfather said this is proper etiquette."